Problem
When people think about holiday food, they think about poultry, pork and meat. Most overlook the seafood Red Lobster is known for as playing a role in the decadent holiday flavors they crave.
Insight
While there’s lots to love about the traditions of the holidays (especially for Red Lobster diners who overindex on interests in spirituality, church, and gospel music), everyone loves a good remix.
Solution
We partnered with Pastor Shirley Caesar, the iconic gospel singer who led a Thanksgiving sermon where she listed popular holiday dishes like ‘greens, beans, potatoes, tomatoes.’ The sermon was set to music and became a viral song that people love to reshare every year. To bring lobster and shrimp into the festive season, we reimagined Pastor Shirley’s original lyrics and recorded the gospel legend for Red Lobster’s new TV and social executions, with Shirley passionately calling out the delicious details in the new Red Lobster holiday menu. Viewers could sing along with a karaoke-style bouncing ball - or in this case, a bouncing lobster.
Results
Red Lobster and Pastor Shirley brought new flavor to the holidays and lots of love from our diners, giving the brand lots of reasons to celebrate:
+20% guest count
+21% sales yoy
6.2 billion earned impressions
521 earned media placements
100% positive sentiment on earned media
2 million organic impressions in 4 days
Team
Strategy: Yours Truly
Creative Agency: Barkley